No Turning Back
by plays-with-stars
Summary: What happens when a girl threatens to expose the company Jackson works for?
1. Prologue

A/N: So I'm a little nervous to post this but I've had it wrote for awhile so I figured I might as well finally. Basically I got the idea for this story after watching a whole season of Veronica Mars in one day. I started thinking about what would happen if Jackson's company had some kind of cover and somebody (not veronica mars though) started investigating them and found out the truth of what their business actually did.

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Before this happened my life was perfectly normal if not even outright boring. I was a regular teenager attending high school. Yesterday was actually my graduation. Don't bother asking how it went. I wouldn't be able to you tell you because I wasn't there.

I had lost track of how long it had been since he finally left me alone. The idea of time had become rather irrelevant to me. When I heard the door slam shut and the lock click in place I finally allowed myself to collapse to the floor. My back was pressed against the only furniture in the room which was a small bed. Its cool surface felt comforting to my aching body.

I held my knees up to my chest wondering how long it would be until he returned next time. It was true he terrified me but I realized quickly it was best not to let him know that. He took far too much pleasure out of it. I didn't ever want to appear weak to him again. I had only cried in front of him once at the very beginning.

I let my head fall forward into my hands as I replayed the recent events in my head. I really didn't see how my life could get much worse. Before this my biggest worry was not getting into my favorite college. Which to my teenage self would have been a horrible tragedy since it was where all my friends were planning on going. I laughed since that seemed so stupid now compared to worrying about doing something wrong and being killed for it.

On the first day he brought me here I tried to escape to get help. It didn't take him long to catch me but I had to at least try. He then threatened to kill me in return saying he wasn't going to deal with my disobedience. I wasn't ready to give up without fighting more. I didn't want to die at 17.

To stop him though came at a high price. I had to make a promise to him that I would do whatever he wanted and behave from then on. I was still tempted at times to try getting help but my need for self-preservation always kicked in before I could act. Sometimes I regret making that promise. I find myself thinking sometimes that things would have been better off if I had just been killed that day. At least this nightmare would be over with and he would no longer be able to hurt me.

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Please review and let me know what you thought and if I should bother continuing the story. 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. My college classes have been demanding a lot more work since there's actually lesson plans and teaching involved now. This chapter is kind of boring since it's setting up the story. I'm a little worried since I've never wrote in first person before except in academic type papers. Please leave feedback so I know what to change and how to make it better. Thanks. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter and it was worth the wait.

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Jackson Rippner thrived on being busy. He hated being stuck inside or at his company's office. Luckily he didn't have to deal with it very often. He had worked hard over the years to get where he was in the company. He was one of the first people asked for all the high profile jobs. 

The trouble with today was he had just successfully finished a big job and had yet to be assigned to anything new. Jackson picked up a stack of old paperwork to go through while he waited.

It wasn't until after lunch that Jackson got a call from his boss to come see him. He was hoping it was about new possible job. He wasn't sure how much longer he would actually be able to occupy himself at the office.

Upon entering the office he was handed a thick folder. Nothing was written on the outside and Jackson wouldn't have time to thoroughly look at it until later when he was alone.

He listened as his boss explained that a business man had contacted them about having a job done. A Mr. James Doyle had recently found out his wife was cheating on him and he wished to have it taken care of.

"He has requested the best person we have if you're interested."

_Of course he was interested. Why wouldn't he be? _

"When does he want it done by?" Jackson asked anxious to get started on something new.

"Well he wishes to meet with whoever is doing it later this afternoon. I'm sure he can give you all the details you need then."

"Excellent"

"And Jackson don't screw this up. He's a very important client who is paying you very well."

_How could he possibly screw up an easy, routine job such as this? He'd have it done in no time. _

After leaving Jackson had a little bit of time before the meeting and made sure to scan the folder given to him earlier in the day. He wanted to make sure he had all information he would need for later and had any questions answered before James left. The less record there was of communication in his business, the better.

Jackson was surprised to find out Mr. Doyle refused to come inside for the meeting as he didn't plan on staying long. He didn't wish to risk anybody seeing him entering the building in case somebody knew what actually went on in the building. His worries seemed unfounded to Jackson since the real business of murder for hire had been hidden extremely well by the façade of a completely different, legitimate business.

Mr. Doyle was the one supplying the paycheck so Jackson was willing to go along with almost anything if the person was able to pay him well enough. Shortly before three he left the building to go meet his new client discretely back in the alley located besides the building. This was the whole reason for the selected time since the streets would almost if not completely empty with people being inside working until closing time.

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I can't believe my school sent me home again. My mom were going to kill me. I swear my teacher has something against me. The last time this happened I promised it wasn't going to happen again. With my luck the school had probably already called my mom by now so the longer I stayed out the better it was for me. I was probably going to be grounded for forever this time when I finally got home so I might as well stay out while I can.

I passed my favorite restaurant on the way home so I decided to enjoy my last little bit of freedom by ordering something to eat. Nobody seemed to be around even though across the street was a row of businesses that I passed by everyday.

My food came quickly since they weren't busy and even though I hadn't been sitting there long I found it odd I still hadn't seen many other people around. Granted I'm normally in school at this hour so this may very well be normal for this hour.

The waiter brought my check when I finished. I was in the middle of paying when I noticed an expensive car park next to the curb on the opposite side of the street. Which wouldn't have been all that interesting but instead of going inside he looked all around before quickly disappearing down a nearby alley. That was definitely not normal behavior by any standard of mine.

"Your change, miss"

I snapped my head back when I realized I had let myself become distracted by it. "Sorry. Thank you"

"Have a nice day" The smile he flashed at me was absolutely wonderful.

As I began to walk home my curiosity got the best of me. I couldn't just leave and go home now. Not when something exciting was finally happening around here. It was normally so boring. I had to find out what was going on here with this suspicious acting guy. Best to watch from a concealed spot I decided in case something bad really was going on. It was another ten minutes before another guy who was dressed impeccably came out of what was the accounting building and disappeared as well into the alley.

_Well that's odd. Why couldn't he just meet that man inside? Surely it would be easier since you would think he would need a calculator or computer to do his job. He obviously wasn't doing accounting work. There goes my imagination again creating crazy conspiracy theories about what they were actually doing outside. This is what always gets you in trouble. Now I'm talking to myself which is never a good sign. _

My vibrating cell phone in my pocket pulled me back to reality and forced me to stop watching as I flipped my phone open. I didn't even need to look at the caller id to know it was my mom calling to tell me I should have been home by now. I quickly flipped the phone shut ignoring the call. It wouldn't take me long to walk home from here so I decided I'd rather ignore it and deal with the consequences of that decision later. You would think my mom would be used to this by now and stop worrying so much.

As I left my hiding spot to walk home I noticed the younger guy look over at me for the first time. His eyes were so strikingly blue though that I began to think I was imagining things again. Whether he really was or not I started feeling very uncomfortable and picked up my pace to get home faster.

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Please remember to review. 


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I know this update is long overdue and people have probably stopped reading or lost interest but I finally have some ideas for this story.

Her phone didn't stop vibrating almost the whole way home. As soon as it stopped vibrating it seemed to start again.

_Why is she so annoying? _

All she wanted was to be treated like an adult. She would be eighteen in a few months and her mother still treated her like she was five years old. As soon as she graduated from high school she was out of here.

She picked a college several hours away from her hometown just for this reason. She couldn't wait to get away from her mother's protectiveness and constant worry.

Her mother didn't always used to be this way. She used to consider her to be really cool. Then her father died and her mother was left to raise her and her little sister on her own. Ever since then her mother wanted to know every little detail of her personal life.

_Everyone knows how well that turns out when dealing with a teenager who is dying for some independence. _

It wasn't long after her father's death that she could feel herself changing. Maybe it was her father's death or maybe it was her way of dealing with her mom's reaction. Or just maybe it was a combination of both.

She started hanging out with different friends and it wasn't unusual for her to stay out for hours at night or not come home on the weekends without telling her mom about her plans.

So why her phone was ringing non-stop now she couldn't figure out because really her mother should be used to this by now. When her house came into view she decided she couldn't put off the inevitable any longer.

She hadn't even shut the front door the whole way before her mother was yelling at her. "Addison Lane! Would you like to explain to me where exactly you have been for the last two hours?"

"School…you know where I've been going every day for the last 17 years" She was sure her mother caught her rolling her eyes but if the school hadn't called her then she wasn't planning on blowing her cover.

"How about the truth for once Addison? I've been worried sick."

"When aren't you worried anymore, Mom?" Addison said with a huge sigh as she attempted to remove herself quickly from the living room area and escape up to her bedroom.

"Addison, come back here right now! I was not finished talking to you."

_What else could there possibly be to say. She messed up yet again and she could almost guarantee that this would not be the last time that she would either. _

"What?" Addison asked with a huff while she placed her hand firmly on her hip. "Can we maybe get this over with because I sort of have plans later."

"Sorry, to tell you this Addie but unless your plans involve staying home and finally doing some school work you don't have plans."

"This is so unfair!" she started shouting forgetting the fact that her little sister was probably nearby and listening. "I'm practically an adult. I should be able to do whatever I want."

"Maybe once you start acting like an adult. I'll start treating you like one. I'll even give you one last chance to tell me where you've been and I suggest you don't lie to me this time."

_Okay, so maybe the school did call her. _

"Whatever they told you mom, it wasn't true. It's a complete misunderstanding and they don't have any proof at all."

_Denial was always the best way to go whenever she felt she might be in trouble for something. _

"So you weren't offering to make fake ID's for your friends then?"

_Shit, so she did know more than she thought. Think Addie, what could she say that would make her mother happy but also keep her out of trouble? _

"Okay, so I might have told a couple people that I knew where they could possibly get some." Noticing her mother's body language quickly changing for the worse she tried to spin her story into a more positive light. "But it's not like they can proof anything and I only have to miss school for one day"

"This behavior is going to end up getting you in more and more trouble. Next time it won't just be a day's suspension."

"Mom, don't think of it that way. I wasn't planning on doing it for free. They were going to pay me. Then I was going to use that money for college" she calmly stated hoping she was making the situation sound way more positive.

_Her mother definitely did not look impressed by her story telling._

"Your father would not be happy with how you've been acting lately Addison"

"Well then I guess it's a good thing that he's not around to see then. Are we done here?" the sarcasm in her voice couldn't have been any more obvious if she tried.

But right now she couldn't be bothered to care about her mother's feelings.

She was totally over this conversation and all she wanted to do now if she couldn't go out was go up to her bedroom and be alone.

Maybe she would use this new, unexpected free time to do some research of her own on that business she noticed downtown.

_She was going to find out what was really going on down there. Research was what she did best anyways. _

**So if you are still reading leave me a review and I promise to try to keep the updates regular from now on. **


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I really appreciate it. I know this one is short but at least it's an update.

The alley they were meeting in might have been narrow and hidden from plain view but it still made Jackson feel like their entire meeting was incredibly public.

He didn't need a crowd of people around to feel paranoid. He never even got paranoid before. He was the best in the business and nobody ever dared challenge him. But that was before his recent fucked up job.

_It was supposed to be a simple, routine job. _

Famous Jackson Rippner taken down a couple pegs by a fucking girl.

She was not just any girl either but a girl who appeared to be nothing but weak and broken. Because of that incident Jackson didn't particularly like this feeling of being so exposed. It was much easier for things to go wrong that way.

_He needed complete control. He craved it. _

At least when they were inside he knew that everybody around him was on his side. He needed to show everyone at his company that he was still the best they had and he would find his way back to the top.

"So when can you start?"

Jackson jerked his head back towards the meeting trying his best to fake that he was paying attention. This would be much easier if his client was a young, attractive female and not a middle aged business man. "I'm sorry… what were you saying?"

_Don't fuck this up, Jackson. _

"I wanted to know how soon you can start." Jackson could tell that his client slowly seemed to be losing his patience.

_Focus, Jackson, Focus_

He knew he needed to get his focus back on their meeting but he couldn't stop wondering about the girl he just saw out of the corner of his eye. There was nothing he could do about it now. He certainly didn't want his client to feel like something was wrong

He swore he saw her staring at them.

_Why was she staring at them?_

_Surely she didn't know what they were doing? _

_What if she was working for someone? _ He knew for a fact that the people who hired him last weren't too happy with him since he failed to get the job done.

Yes, he realized how ridiculous that might have sounded since she looked too young and why would they send a girl? But underestimating his target last time is what landed him in trouble. He wasn't going to make that same mistake again.


End file.
